1. Field of the Invention
The field of the present invention is generally related to photoalteration of materials and more particularly, to systems and methods for incising a portion of a material.
2. Background
Reshaping the cornea of an eye can correct various vision impairments such as myopia, hyperopia, astigmatism, or the like. Some procedures for reshaping the cornea utilize laser beams to photoalter a desired area of the eye. Examples of photoalteration include, but are not necessarily limited to, chemical and physical alterations, chemical and physical breakdown, disintegration, ablation, vaporization, or the like. One example of photoalteration using pulsed laser beams is the photodisruption (e.g., via laser induced optical breakdown) of corneal tissue. Localized photodisruptions can be placed at the surface of the cornea or sub-surface. For example, a micro-optics scanning system may be used to scan pulsed laser beams to produce an incision in the cornea and create a flap therefrom. The term “scan” or “scanning” refers to the movement of the focal point of a pulsed laser beam along a desired path. To create a flap, the pulsed laser beam is typically scanned along a pre-determined region (e.g., within the corneal tissue) in either a spiral pattern or a raster pattern. A sidecut is subsequently made that encircles most of the scanned region while leaving a portion intact to form a hinge for the flap.
The biomechanical integrity of the cornea may be reduced after performing flap-based or incision-based procedures. In some cases, flap incisions are utilized that ease the separation of the flap from the underlying corneal bed. These flap incisions generally produce a smooth or “clean” tissue separation that reduces the biomechanical integrity of the cornea when the flap is reintegrated (e.g., typically by returning the flap into the underlying corneal bed) with the cornea post-procedure. Additionally, the resulting flap can be inadvertently displaced, and repositioning the flap can affect the visual outcomes. These conventional flap incisions or the displacement of the flap can affect healing of the treated corneal tissue.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide systems and methods for creating a flap of material that improve the biomechanical integrity of material with the flap reintegrated therewith. More particularly, it is desirable to provide systems and method for creating corneal flaps that improve the biomechanical integrity of the cornea and/or promote healing of the cornea following reintegration of the flap with the cornea. It is also desirable to provide systems and method for incising corneal tissue for keratoplasty that improves the biomechanical integrity and/or promotes healing of the cornea with the transplanted corneal tissue. Additionally, other desirable features and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the foregoing technical field and background.